OMC: Is this something you've seen at other museums?

DK: It's something we pioneered at the San Jose Museum of Art and more than 200 hundred museums now have this technology.

OMC: About two years ago I went to the MCA in Chicago and the main exhibit there was on the evolution of the Segway. It really struck me how art exhibits might be changing. Segways are scientific and usable; they're not just hanging on a wall. You've been in the museum circuit for about a decade now -- have you seen an evolution of the art exhibit to reflect the times?

DK: I think what we're seeing is a blurring of the boundaries of how we'd traditionally define art. The role of technology in art has been around a long time. Artists have always played with technology; they've used the latest materials, techniques and processes coming out of the traditional sciences and applied them to artistic process. It's the nature of the beast. The difference between the artist and the scientist is attitude and discipline, rather than creativity. When you talk about the Segway, you talk about fine design, artful design. There's a beauty, a simplicity, a cleanness to that object, and yes it is utilitarian, but it's also sculptural. The utilitarian aspect of artful living is an important connection here for the fine arts. I see it as providing more options for experiencing what we mean by creativity.

OMC: Switching gears, the latest art controversy in Milwaukee is surrounding the Bronze Fonz statue.

DK: Great! Bring it on.

OMC: You're for it?

DK: Why not? I think communities have to have a whole range of experiences, and the Fonzie connection to Milwaukee is a natural. I think we should just stop talking about it as fine art -- it's a different experience. But commemorative and memorial sculptures, I think that's great. It's fun, kind of quirky and helped put Milwaukee on the map, whether it's good or bad.

OMC: Former Hotcakes Gallery owner Mike Brenner called Milwaukee "intellectually bankrupt" in reference to the city's support of the statue and has said he's leaving town because of it.

DK: I'm sorry he feels that way. Again, I think we need to just get over it and stop calling it "art" or our only artful experience. Now, if this is the only thing we do, that's a problem. But great cities are not one-dimensional. Great city experiences are multi-dimensional and there is a need for an eclectic, diverse mix.

OMC: What do you see as the most exciting thing happening artistically in Milwaukee?

DK: Besides the art museum? The art museum's number one, no small bias there. I think Milwaukee is reinventing itself and this is exciting to me as a newcomer. It appears to me that there is a young, hip, fresh community that is creative; the Third Ward scene is exciting; galleries are surviving and it's all about critical mass. The exciting thing for me is not only the art scene, but also the fact that there is a broader range of lifestyle here than in any time prior.

OMC: Was that part of your draw to the city?

DK: Yes. I struggled with it, frankly, in Silicon Valley for over seven years. By many people's definitions, Silicon Valley is a place that lacks a destination urban center.

OMC: What do you really want to accomplish here?

DK: I think there's a lot that's already been accomplished at MAM, but one of the exciting things for me as the new director is moving forward on some of the problematic issues on the experience side. Now that the building phase has been completed for the next several years there is an opportunity to now focus on the programming and making this museum more inviting and accessible. There's the opportunity to create what I'm calling the new "visitor experience initiative" around the art, which is more hands-on, interactive aspects.

I also think there is an opportunity to build on the museum's tradition of working with contemporary and modern artists and infuse the institution with some new and fresh programs.